article
Environmental variability and settlement changes on the Parajito Plateau, New Mexico
American antiquity • 56 (2) • Published In 1991 • Pages: 315-332
By: Orcutt, Janet Dale.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Using data on low-frequency alluvial and hydrological changes on the Colorado Plateau and high-frequency changes in climate for the northern Rio Grande, Orcutt proposes societies should respond with specific changes in settlement patterns and land use. These hypotheses are then compared against the archaeological data from 850-400 BP (AD 1150-1600) on population distribution and settlement patterns, including locations of field houses at different elevations. 'Low-frequency processes especially appear to have played a role in settlement change until AD 1450. After this date, settlement does not conform to expectations.' (page 315). Some of the possible reasons for remaining in the lower elevations despite dry conditions and aggrading flood plains include poor understanding of low-frequency processes; aggregation and intensive agriculture may have become too costly socially for people to move; human alteration of the landscape at high elevations may have degraded the environment enough so that it had not had enough time to recover; the lower elevations may have offered advantages for agriculture including longer growing season, broader flood plains and gentler slopes, and permanent water in drainages suitable for agriculture; and conflict.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Climate
- Topography and geology
- Soil
- Settlement patterns
- Land use
- Population
- traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Late Anasazi
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2012
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southwest and Basin
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Sarah Berry; 2011
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- not specified
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 850-400 BP (AD 1150-1600)
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Pajarito Plateau, New Mexico, United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- Janet D. Orcutt
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 329-332)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 46036122
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Indians of North America--Antiquities